Combining rails

[STEvil]

Got a PSU with split +12v rails? Lets fix that!


acutally I have no clue if this can be done reliably, probably depends on manufacturer and PSU PCB revision among other things.. but i'm tempted to take a soldering iron to my OCZ 600w Powerstream and combine the +12v rails so they cant shift under heavy loads, as well as to combine the amperage for more potential output to either CPU(s) or video card(s) as needed...

Unfortunately I paid too much for it and now i've gotta make a thread about it to get my adrenaline running before I touch it.. lmao

[Micutzu]

The 12V rails are anyway combined on a certain level inside the PSU and aren't that independent as the manufacturers may let you think ... but there's no problem, you can join the rails by using a very thick wire directly on the PCB. Actually Tagan (who uses the same electronics - made by Topower - as OCZ) offer their PSU's with a split/combine switch that theoretically improves stability at very high loads.

[STEvil]

yeah, I knew about that, but some dont combine them like others... so if I put 30a worth of load on one rail it would droop and cause voltage drift from rail to rail (very bad, ends in dead video cards sometimes, etc) whereas if I combined them there is no problem since they both "even out" the load. Some "split rail" PSU's are already combined fully too..

Some psu's might have issues with this, others shouldnt care at all..

anyways, gotta find a spare socket 462 cpu then i'll test.

[STEvil]

insides of the 600w powerstream are a bit too cramped to do it